TA Moore – Sting in the Tail

Today, I have author TA Moore in the interview chair. We’re discussing her latest release Sting in the Tail, part of the Carnival of Mysteries series, a m/m paranormal romance. Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

****

1. Hello TA, readers know about the writer you but what about the every day you. Can you share a bit about your personal life?

TA: Hello and delighted to be here! I tend to be a bit of an open book—I’ve always felt it takes a lot of time and effort to be mysterious! – but I think I can scrounge up a few secrets! I’m from Northern Ireland, a small market town on the coast, and have never really wanted to leave. If you’ve seen me on social media at all you know that I have two staffies that are spoiled rotten and the best dogs in the world. However, when I was a kid we always had a house of German Shepherds, and the K9 in the Digging Up Bones detective series was based on my mum’s dog, Lady.

Before I became a writer full-time I worked in documentary production for the BBC, and was production manager on various sports and science documentaries. It was a lot of fun, and I got a lot of free research books. I do miss that. I’ve also worked in the arts, and spent a year in Newcastle working on the Durham Book Festival. My favorite job, however, was at the Creative Writer’s Network, because I got to go to so many awesome productions as a reviewer!

Five Random Facts about TA Moore

I’m not particularly religious. I sort of believe in something, but not the details. I blame this on my aunt, who had a big picture of Jesus on the back of her toilet door. When my shy bladder refused to perform while I stared into the eyes of the Son of God, she told me that ‘I shouldn’t be shy, Jesus doesn’t only watch you in the bathroom. He watches you everywhere…’
Someone pushed me off a train once. It wasn’t moving very fast, so it was more embarrassing than anything else. I just hit the platform, rolled, and then, powered by sheer embarrassment, popped back to my feet, and hobbled away at speed.
I have gone to every US state, expect Alaska. I am keeping my fingers crossed GRL is there one year, but informed opinion says that the odds are NOT in my favor there!
My great-grandmother had the most cinematic life story every. It included arranged Canadian marriage, eloping with her penniless lover, and possibly having the second sight.
And related to the above, my family claim that I’ve inherited my great-grandmother’s Sight. I simultaneously don’t believe in that sort of thing AND was watched through most of my childhood by a malevolent thing in the dark that peeked through windows.

The Irish are a complicated people!

2. I’ve been perusing your Goodreads page and see you are drawn to romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance. Can you share why you enjoy writing in these genres?

TA: Honestly, some of it being contrary. A lot of people over the years have advised me to pick a lane and hew to it. I have never been good at taking advice, even if it is good. Especially if it is good, I suppose.

Beyond that, however, I grew up in a culture that was immersed in the mythology of Ireland. In the Ulster Cycle and the Tuatha de Dannan, a world in which debts and honor and curses were all pretty much the same thing. We were also immersed in the violence of the Troubles, in not saying the wrong thing or talking to the wrong people. In hanging back in the chippy when the local hard man is in to pick up protection and in never seeing anything you might have to talk about later on.

So in a lot of ways I don’t care about the difference between a romantic suspense and an urban fantasy. They all draw from the same place, the same experiences I had. At the end of the day it’s just world building, and in some of those worlds magic works while in others it is forensic science. The thing is that whatever the metaphysical underpinnings of that world, it’s always there in service of the stories. Some stories, some characters, need the freedom of a world untethered by the rules of reality to get to where they need to go. Others need to be constrained by the rules of the natural world, of this world.

And sometimes I just really want to write two people falling in love and being cute about it.

3. Your latest release is part of a shared universe known as The Carnival of Mysteries. How did you become involved in this, and what piqued your interest enough to write a full-length novel for it?

TA: I was at Kearney, which is this gorgeous old fishing village down the coast, with the dogs when Ari McKay messaged me to ask if I was interested. I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I had this massive collection of Thieves World novels when I was a kid. There’s nothing I love like a shared world universe. Plus my PhD was, in large part, about carnivals and I’d done a lot of research on it. So my sweaty little fingers couldn’t wait to start typing.

Actually, I ended up coming up with about eight different ideas for the story that I had to winnow down to one. There were just so many possibilities. I think I picked the right world though!

4. Give us one positive and negative attribute for the star of your novel, Ledger.

TA: Ledger is the son of a serial killer, and warlock…but most people don’t know about that part. He has reacted to the lie that was his whole life by being generally quite straightforward. Sometimes he lies, if he needs to, but mostly he’s very clear about who he is and what he needs.

The flip side of that, however, is that he’s quite guarded and can be selfish. He had to look out for himself, after all, to get out of his childhood alive. Sometimes he can be quite ruthless in his way.

5. What do you think readers will like most about Ledger?

TA: Well, I really enjoyed writing the unique way he perceived the world. That was a lot of fun and I hope people enjoy it. Other than that, I think they’ll like his relationship with Wren, which is prickly and honesty and sweeter than either of them expected.

6. If a reader asked you why they should read Sting in the Tail, what would you tell them?

TA: Oh, the Northern Irish in me is chewing on my over this. Blowing your own trumpet is so frowned on. But if I sit on that…

It’s a great book. I love the world, I love the love story, and I adore my villain. It’s a compelling, fast-paced, urban fantasy with a sweet, hot romance at the heart of it. The villain is despicable, the stakes are high, and the hero is disgusted that he got involved in all this..

7. You have an extensive backlist. Which book was your favourite to write, and why?

TA: It changes! However, probably Shift Work. It was a book that nobody but me was enthusiastic about until I’d written it, but I knew that idea had legs. There’s a massive bible of details about that world that didn’t make it into the actual text but informed how the characters interacted.

It was just a really indulgent, satisfying book to write. And I pulled off a really sweet cliffhanger without making everyone hate me!

8. Readers enjoy hearing about works in progress. Can you share what you’re currently working on?

TA: I am working on Down to the Bone, the final book in the Digging Up Bones trilogy. I may return to the world, but we’re going to wrap up Javi and Cloister’s first chapter. Happily, though!

9. I enjoy doing random questions, so humour me:

What’s your favourite movie?
Oh that’s a hard one. I want to say something sophisticated and erudite, but it’s like a draw between Fright Night (the remake!) and Bladerunner (the original).
What book is currently in your e-reader?
Subway Slayings by C.S. Poe and Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid.
Who’s your favourite musical group?
I am somewhat faithless when it comes to music. It’s just whatever songs I feel have the ‘book vibe’ or that I’m shamelessly rewriting to be relevant to dogs (the only creatures in the world that like it when I sing to them!). I really like Cobra Starshop, though. The Fratellis. Oh and Pentonix! I am a sucker for a good bass.
What song puts a smile on your face?
I’ve Got a Horse Outside by the Rubber Bandits. I’ve exposed so many people to this song, and they hate it!

10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

TA: Thank you so much for having me! I hope that everyone enjoys Sting in the Tail.

****

Title: Sting in the Tail
Series: Carnival of Mysteries
Author: TA Moore
Genre: MM Paranormal Romance
Tropes: Unfinished Business, First Times, Ticking Clock
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Release Date: October 4, 2023
Length: 87 000 words/ 130 pages
Publisher: Rogue Firebird Press

The Carnival of Mysteries just arrived in Sutton County. They say if you cross the fortune teller’s palm with silver she can read your future like a map. Right now all Ledger Conroy wants to know is if he has a future.

Blurb: Back in Sutton after over a decade, Ledger’s plan had been to bury his father–recently deceased convicted serial killer and less-well known warlock, Bell Conroy–clear the property, and then finally wash his hands of being a Conroy. Instead there’s a cured human heart in the larder, a pissed off pretty boy who is definitely not human at the door, and a debt to the devil that Ledger’s just inherited.

Devil. Monster. Something like that. He’d not asked for its pedigree

Whatever it was, it’s given Ledger a week to fulfill the terms of his father’s contract. Or else he’s never going to leave Sutton again. With pretty-boy Wren at his heels, more to make sure Ledger doesn’t skip town than to provide assistance, Ledger tries to track his father’s sins across Sutton. The problem is there’s so many of them.

Ledger is faced with old grudges, a Sheriff that thinks Ledger knows more about his father’s crimes than he’s ever said (and isn’t wrong), and a dead man with a book shop. Not to mention the on-going distraction of Wren, who can’t decide whether to be a hindrance, a help, or just hot. Luckily Ledger has a nose for this sort of work.

Sting in the Tail is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains a dealer in dark collectibles, a man who’s NOT people, and a monster with a debt it expects to be paid. It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

BELL CONROY HAD died alone and unmourned.

There was no one to write an obituary, but he was Sutton County, Ohio’s most famous son. His passing couldn’t go unmentioned, even if it was a “just the facts” death notice in the Sutton Herald.

He’d been fifty-six.

He’d been released from prison on compassionate grounds when he was diagnosed with cancer.

Cause of death: suicide.

The families of his eighteen victims would probably never get the bodies back.

Sorry.

Not famous. Infamous.

Ledger took the second turn after the red barn. The road was technically paved, but one of the downsides of being a well-known serial killer was that the county didn’t spend a lot of money on the upkeep of your properties. The rental car—the only one available on short notice—creaked and rattled as it jounced along the rutted, potholed road.

A half-hearted scarecrow had been strung up on the property line. It hung from a scrubby tree and stared at the road with Sharpie-cross eyes. A shock of red yarn hair had been stitched onto the burlap sack head. That was from the twenty-year-old mug shot. Between age, prison, and cancer, the hair had left this mortal plane years before Conroy had.

Ledger hit the brakes as he reached the gates and let the car roll over the cattle grid. He pulled onto the patchy grass outside the house, turned off the engine, and got out of the car. There was a white van parked in front of the house. Ledger rolled his sleeves down over his forearms and buttoned the cuffs as he stared at the vehicle.

He’d booked the flight the moment he heard the news about Conroy and driven straight here from the airport. It looked like that hadn’t been quick enough.

The vultures had beaten him to it.

Ledger snorted to himself.

One vulture, anyhow.

He started toward the house. The driver’s side door opened as he passed the van, and Benjy Hark scrambled out. The lanky gray-haired man fell into step next to him.

“You’re too late,” Hark said. “I’ve already spoken to the son and made an offer on it as a job lot.”

“A fair offer?” Ledger asked.

Hark took a beat. “Fair enough,” he said, pulling his glasses out of his top pocket. “As far as the son knows, anyhow. It’s not like this lot is worth anything to him. I’m doing him a favor, really.”

“Well, him and your wallet.”

Hark snorted. He lifted his glasses and breathed on them to mist the glass, then polished the lenses with the end of his tie.

“And what?” he said. “You’re going to walk in there and offer him the black market value on his inheritance? Don’t try and kid a kidder, Ledger. You’re not any fucking better than the rest of us.”

Ledger smirked briefly in response. He couldn’t argue with that. In their line of work—sourcing dark Americana for the sort of people that weren’t really people—it was hard to pretend otherwise. They were in this for the dirty money. Their only excuse was that the heirs had no way to capitalize on their dead relative’s collection. As a moral justification, it was thin.

To say the least.

Not that there was moral justification for much in their business. The Catholic Church had a monopoly on the bones of saints and the effects of the blessed. On the other hand, the trade in sinners and their leavings was an open market… and a profitable one. Who wanted to pray—and pay—for a miracle when they could wring a demon’s price from the junk that had soaked in a monster’s misdeeds for years.

And for the low, low price of cold, hard cash, Ledger would find it for them.

“I never said I was,” Ledger said. They reached the porch and climbed the three sagging steps to the door. Something had been scrawled on the wood in red paint, but it had been mostly scoured away. Killer? Murderer? It could have been either, Ledger supposed. Both were true. “But I know that Conroy’s heir isn’t going to take your offer.”

Hark slid his glasses on and squinted at Ledger through the lenses. Despite his best efforts, there was still a fingerprint on the glass. There always was. It was surprisingly easy to pick up minor curses in their line of work.

“You’ve already spoken to him?”

Ledger reached into his pocket. “You could say that,” he said as he pulled out the keys the lawyer had left for him. “I amhim.”

He unlocked the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him in Hark’s face.

Look at that. It was like having your abusive, cultist dad drop dead was just all brightside and no downside at all.